Expressway work is boosting Staten Island's economy

Staten Island Advance/Michael SedonRemy Krista, foreground, and Flamur Begu both work at My Pizzeria in Grasmere. They say that the construction workers reconfiguring the Staten Island Expressway have been regular fixtures at their business since 2010.

Businesses large and small are benefiting from nearly $20 million spent here from the two state Department of Transportation projects.

The bus/HOV lane extension project, which is a $110 million job, will bring about $15 million to local contractors and businesses, said state DOT spokesman Adam Levine.

The project starts at the Clove Road exit and extends to the Victory Boulevard exit.

"I've noticed every day Monday through Friday, they're here every day for lunch," said Eddie Kazani, one of the owners of Village Maria II Pizza, located off Manor Road in Castleton Corners near the SIE.

"So basically it's helping us. We get at least 10 to 15 of those workers a day here." 

A SMALL TRADE-OFF 

Although some construction workers leave behind muddy boot prints on the floor that Kazani mops up, it's a small trade-off for the extra business, he said.

But the biggest payout of more than $9 million will go to DiFazio Industries in Mariners Harbor for paving and milling work.

Modern Industries in Charleston and FazTec in Bloomfield will share in about $1.4 million for disposal and supplying fill material that will go under the highway.

In Line Fuel Corp. in Mariners Harbor is supplying $1.2 million in fuel for construction equipment, and there's almost $2 million more in miscellaneous spending going to Island businesses -- from office space rental to hiring pest control contractors.

And out of the 97 workers employed for the project, 27 of them are from Staten Island, and combined, they spend approximately $850 per day -- $700,000 throughout the life of the project -- on lunches and breakfasts at local businesses, according to the DOT.

There has been a trade-off seen at My Deli with construction workers supplementing some of the business lost through increased traffic on Narrows Road North, said manager Doreen Denice.

"There are fewer customers coming in because of the traffic, but the workers come in for breakfast every day," Ms. Denice said.

Although the salary figures were not available for the Staten Islanders employed by this project, the DOT estimated that "several million dollars" of additional economic benefits would be brought to the local economy by them.

Another business near the SIE is benefiting from additional traffic.

"We have increased business because all those construction guys, they are coming for breakfast and coming for lunch, and also there is a pick up in business because traffic is coming around," said Shamas Syed, owner of M&M Bagels and Deli on Victory Boulevard near Slosson Avenue in Castleton Corners.

The increase in traffic is due to motorists trying to avoid the Slosson Avenue entrance ramp to the SIE. The ramp ends with a stop sign, and many of Syed's customers -- including the construction workers -- have told him it's dangerous.

"That is very, very dangerous," Syed said. "Even the construction people say yeah, they have to fix that one. And a lot of people, they complain about this."

From the closed Lily Pond exit to the Clove Road exit the Access Improvements project will spend an estimated $4.5 million at a variety of Island businesses, Levine said. 

HUNGRY WORKERS 

The largest spending for this project is for hauling construction materials at a cost of $1.5 million for an Island company. The DOT did not have the name of this company available.

About $1.2 million will be spent by workers locally on lunches and breakfasts throughout the project, the DOT estimates.

"They came in every day at 12 o'clock for lunch," said Flamur Begu, who works at My Pizzeria in Grasmere.

Begu especially noticed the presence of highway workers when they were doing heavy construction on the new Clove Road ramp located about a block away from the business.

On this project, 25 percent of the workers -- 15 people -- are from Staten Island, and the Island economy will benefit from that, the DOT said. 